In order to assist a user of a motor vehicle in transporting equipment, tools, supplies and other various items, a motor vehicle may have an attached trailer hitch assembly for the purpose of pulling a trailer. A typical trailer hitch assembly consists of a trailer hitch receiver tube and a trailer hitch tube inserted and locked therein. By inserting and locking the trailer hitch tube within the trailer hitch receiver tube, a trailer can be attached to the trailer hitch and used to transport various items, for example those mentioned above.
Unlike the energy-dampening capabilities of rear bumpers produced today, a trailer hitch assembly (and the frame it is attached to) must absorb the energy of a rear-end collision experienced by a trailer being pulled by a motor vehicle. Without the capability of the trailer hitch assembly to absorb energy from the rear-end collision, significant damage to the motor vehicle can occur. Thus there is a need for a trailer hitch assembly that absorbs the energy from an impact to the rear of a trailer attached to a motor vehicle.